The Higher, The Better

Why does it seem that everyone, girls especially like guys who can sing really high. I don't have a really high voice, my highest note is a "G" above middle "C". There are kids at my school who can hit high "C"s without even blinking. Think of all of your favorite guy singers on the radio. If they don't sing at least an "A" I would be surprised. In a world where everone sings high, the higher the better is truely the way of the world. To show this, here are some examples.



Michael Jackson. He may be gone but there is no diputing that his voice was the highest that most people have ever heard. I wonder why.....



My personal favorite of the idol contestants. He can sing higher than these songs would normally ever require you to. So he rewrote them to be even higher than normal.



Ryan Toby is amazing. Just listen to that note at 2:30. That's all I have to say.

The Movies' Composer

Can you guess what the movies Jaws, Star Wars, ET, Schindler's List, Superman, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Home Alone, Jurassic Park, and Saving Private Ryan have in common? If you guessed the composer of their music you are brilliant and correct. John Williams is one of the greatest composers of movie music ever. These and countless other scores have won him hundreds of awards and recognitions. He writes moving music with a unique style that is all his own. I hope you enjoy his music as much as I do.



This is a medley of some of his most famous works. They fit nicely together.



This song is one of the most moving pieces ever. you could almost cry every time you here it from the beauty, passion, and emotion of the piece.



This song oozes magic and fits perfectly to Harry Potter. John Williams only wrote the music to the first three movies.



This song doesn't need pictures for you to guess the whole story line. Again very emotional.

The Cartoon

Phineas and Ferb is a decently good kids cartoon on Disney channel. The best part of this show is the music. The story line is about two step brothers who are spending their summer building outrageous contraptions to do impossible tasks. Some of the shows are actually good and they aren't all about the same subject. My favorite one is when they get their parents favorite band back together for their anniversary. The music was awesome.



The first member is the lead singer and guitarist. He is always on board with the reunion because he says rock is his life. He tells the boys why he cares so much about music and says he will join.



The second member is the bassist and the fashion conscious one in the group. He isn't sure he wants to because he feels the bassist is never given enough credit. The boys convince him by saying that the band needs his style.



The final member is the drummer. He ended up as a librarian because he thought he lost his rhythm. The boys show him he hasn't and he joins again.



The performance is great and everyone is happy just like every other Disney ending. The band sounds great even though they haven't practiced in years and Phineas and Ferb's parents are all happy. I really do feel that the show has great music and if you get you should check it out. Comment on what you think so I know if I am alone in my opinion.

The Perfect Station

I am a very eclectic music listener. I love most types of music even if I don't like every song. That is a problem when I want to listen to the radio. How do you choose a station when you will only hear one type of music? The answer came to me in an online radio called pandora.com. Pandora asks you to give it a song or an artist's name. The station then looks at every song it has and picks songs by the same artist or in the same style. You can make multiple stations to have different types of music availible. By doing that you can switch from one type of music to another with one click. Not only that, but you can tell the site which songs it plays that you don't like and which you do. It figures out which songs are similar to each when it decides what to play after that so you eventually only hear songs that you will like. can this site do any wrong? It tells you about each artist, album, song, and the lyrics so you can sing along. You can buy the songs that you like, you can post your station on facebook, twitter, etc. it is hard to find anything I don't like. I only wish you could replay songs but it is still a radio station even though it is awsome. I highly suggest it to everyone, especially music fans.

The Contests

As I look back at 2009 and the past decade, I see that we have made a lot of great music and we will be remembered for that even though I don't know for what genera most. But I already commented on that in my other post The Era of Musical Varience. What I want to talk about more is how people are being brought into entertainment by all types of media and who weren't originally famous or important.


The obvious starting point is American Idol. Starting with Kelly Clackson in the first season and continuing with Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, and Kris Allen, stars have been born from this show. The people who have won were nobodies and most are now stars on the radio. Some who haven't won became famous too like Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry, and Adam Lambert. This was the show that set the precedent for the three judge panel: one nice, one mean, and one who is truthful, and mixed genders. American Idol was the show that started fulfilling peoples performing dreams.

The other show was America's got talent. This show was created by the makers of American Idol but was made to focus on all types of talents as opposed to only singing. However, all of the four winners; Bianca Ryan, Terry Fator, Neil E. Boyd, and Kevin Skinner; are singers, making it more of a singing show. No one however is really big off of this show, or at least not the way the people off American Idol are. Terry Fator is the most famous but it is for his Las Vegas show. The others either haven't done much or aren't good anymore.

The next way was by the internet. People were discovered on YouTube and became huge internet sensations. One of the biggest was Fred. Fred, also known as Lucas Cruikshank, started as just another kid posting videos on YouTube. He talks with a high squeaky voice and pretnds to be about half his age. He has now broken away from the internet and guest starred on iCarly and Hannah Montana, popular kids tv shows.

The internet has been used to show those who are amazing in other countries to us. Susan Boyle is the perfect example. She is a brilliant singer from Britain's Got Talent who showed the world how great she was via YouTube. In a day, everyone knew who she was and was completely in love. She is putting out a Christmas album and she has only been around for about six months!

We can create stars faster than ever and, one could argue, better. With the enhanced mediums through which we can listen to music, we have more access to these stars and we listen to more of them. The many opportunities to become famous make the statement "anyone can be a star" completely true. So who is going to be a star next?

The Ability to Talk

I was thinking about what an adult I know recently said and it made me wonder if they were right or not. This person said,

"When I was at the sales conference, my friends and I talked about how crucial
communication is for sales. We realized that in about five or ten years, when
the next generation takes over sales jobs, the companies will fall apart because
they don't have communication skills anymore. You can't use facebook to sell
advertising."

And you know what? They are right. With more and more easier forms of communication, people just don't sit down and talk.

Think about how much time you spend on Facebook, Twitter, txting, or other virtual forms of communication. For most of you, it probably quite a bit. The average teen, acording to this site and this site and many others, spends over 30 hours on the computer doing non-school related work. That is a lot of time and it is time that could have been spent talking to friends personally instead of while you are sitting at a computer, typing in a chat bar. The man who said you can't sell things on Facebook is right. Are you more likly to spent thousands of dollars in your companies advertising money while you sit at a computer not even able to hear or see the person you are giving it to or if you are eating at a fancy resturant, a man in a suit comes and firmly shakes your hand, you make small talk and enjoy the meal all while he explains his idea on how to promote your buisness and make you money? Almost everyone would choose the last one and it's clear why. People like personal meetings but they don't like to work at setting those types of meetings up. We would choose the first choice because we are lazy and feel more comfortable not talking to people even though we enjoy doing so when someone else does the work. So, do I think that advertising will disappear and buisnesses will fail because of it? No. I believe that, since we enjoy face to face conversation naturally, there will always be someone who knows how to talk to people and can sell advertising.

The Hill

My school just got done with three consecutive snow days due to about a foot or more of snow we got over two days. I must admit that I didn't do much homework, (I probably should have as we are now back and teachers could expect it to be done), but what I did do was go sledding. There are several nice hills around my house and I love to sled but given the sore muscles I have now I wonder if it is worth the results to go sledding.

Sledding is a strange activity in the first place. You start at the top of the hill and prepare to go down. You are bundled up so much that you end up sweating in the negative temperatures of the Iowa winter. You sit or lay down on your sled depending on what type you have and figure out the path the you will take down (you will almost never go on that path but you try to figure it out anyway). You propel yourself down some way and you feel the rush of the wind in your face as you smoothly glide across the frozen ground. If you're lucky, your sled will slowly stop and you can climb off but usually you will roll into the snow and be covered in the frozen white mess.

The next step is the crazy part. Standing at the bottom of the hill, you begin the long trek towards the top again, a journey that will take much longer than it took you to get down and be much more tiring. You trudge through the snow, dragging your sled behind you and you realize how smart the invention of the ski lift was. As you mount the top of the hill you feel this sense of accomplishment and relief to be done with this horrible journey. That is when all sense leaves you and you decide to go sliding down once more, starting the cycle all over again.

So what is it that makes sledding fun? Maybe it is the adreneline rush from going down fast and with no control. That's my only guess but even though I don't know for sure why I like sledding I do know this: once I get started, I never want to stop.

Merry Christmas and comment if you figure out what makes sledding fun please.

pcture from google images at this site

The Christmas Songs

These are some of my favorite Christmas songs. Hope you enjoy them. Merry Christmas.

The Truth About the Holidays

Merry Christmas. Happy Chanukah. Happy Kwanzaa. Merry Christmachanukwanzakuh. These are all was people greet each other for the holidays and all except that the latter are quite common. People have turned more to saying "Happy Holidays" because that is truly a universal saying for this time of year. "This Time of Year" has a new meaning now then it did in the past. In this post, I will address some of the major differences I have noticed in my years of life and whether they are good or bad.

The first thing is how extended the holiday time has become. A Local radio station in my town, 104.5 KDAT, has been playing Christmas music since November 1! I love Christmas music but two months is slightly excessive. It is worse because I don't think the station has much more than five days worth of music so by about day six the station is going down hill and by the end of the two months... *phew*... you never want to hear a Christmas song again. Another way is the advertisements and decorations that stores put out. I remember going into stores this year and seeing Santa and vampire statues out at the same time. Why must we advertise a Christmas sale beginning in October before we have stopped celebrating Halloween? The deals keep getting better until Christmas too so it isn't just one big sale that continues on and on.

The sales are pointless because I feel that in these hard economic times people don't want to think about Christmas for months. In my blog post about Halloween I explained that I feel like holidays are fading into the background and people don't care. I think this is shown in the fact that people aren't spending as much as they used to on gifts for their kids. Or at least they are not getting what they used to for that money because of the recession so they definitely are not buying more than they usually do. some holidays are fading away more than Christmas. I haven't heard much about Kwanzaa in years. Granted it wasn't a huge holiday before this but I used to at least see some recognition of it. Also, thanksgiving is being less extravagant to the point where it seems Black Friday is more celebrated than the holiday that makes it "the day after thanksgiving." Why do we do this to holidays that were only meant to bring us together? Christmas is expensive so it is more understandable that it would be easy to make it an understated holiday because people around the world have less money than usual. However, thanksgiving is not a gift giving holiday. The most expensive thing is the dinner and we should be happy that it brings family members that we haven't seen in a long time together in one spot more than we are worried about the cost of a turkey. And when it comes to Christmas, we seem to be loosing sight of what the holiday is truly about. I am not one to quote the bible or talk about religion on my blog but Christmas is about celebrating Jesus Christ's birthday. Whether or not you are christian, he was a person and most religions believe he did some pretty amazing things when he was alive. If we focus on that, it would be easier to not give as much for gifts and still be happy.

The issue is that kids want more every year than they did the last year and they want more expensive gifts too. I was recently at a third grade field trip and all the kids were asked what they wanted for Christmas. Answers like a DSi or an iPod or a computer were popular and one kid even said they wanted a motorcycle. The sad part is that most of those kids will actually get those gifts and I don't even have most of those things. Even parents that have very little money spend what they do have on Christmas presents for their kids because we can't deny kids what they want for some reason. If we could learn to get kids what they need and what is reasonable for them to have then we would have less trouble with our neglect of Christmas because of financial reasons.

One of the things that has bothered me is that Merry Christmas seems to be dying with the holiday. Because I go to a public school, the teachers can't say anything about religion. I used to go on a Christmas break from school when I was younger. Being that Christmas is a religious holiday, however, we can no longer go on a Christmas Break; it has to be either a Holiday Break or a Winter Break because those are non-religious terms. I disagree with this though. This isn't my bias because I am Christian, this is me saying that I would go on a Chanukah Break if that was when we got out or that was the main religion of the area but neither of those is true. America was founded by Christians and consiquently there are more Christians in this country. I don't think that saying Christmas Break is disrespectful to other religions or a way of trying to convert people to Christianity. It is clearly no coincidence that we get out on December 22 from school; It is three days before Christmas. If we got out from the beginning to the end of Chanukah then we would call it Chanukah Break. In our attempt to be fair to all religions because they all happen during this time we have created a general neutrality toward how we address them. If we could all learn to accept all religions we could all be happy saying our respective holiday greetings to others and not have to worry what they would think.

The Video that won't Stay Linked

In September, I watched Fame and posted videos relating to it. You can see that here. However, looking at this post is almost pointless because one of the videos I have posted six different times and it refused to stay available. It always exists for a while and then it disappears from YouTube saying that there was a copyright problem and the video had been removed. This makes me wonder: What do you have to do to put a video on the Internet and not interfere with copyright laws? I love having all the videos we do on YouTube, but most of them aren't probably legal or shouldn't be. I don't think that videos should be posted of people's music or anything else because it denies the creator the money they would have gotten had people been forced to buy them off something like iTunes. As an aspiring musician I understand why the artist that made "Hold your Dream" in Fame would want the video removed so they can make money off the sale of it, but why haven't any of the other videos that are on YouTube been deleted? If we are going to have a rule and only partially enforce it, what is the point of having the rule? There are some videos that can't be embedded and that makes since; if the video can't be taken to another sight then it can be more selectively observed. But the video I posted was perfectly fine to embed; it simply disappeared from YouTube after I did. I feel that YouTube should make a more consistent rule on what can and can't be put on its sight because of copyright laws. It would be more fair to artists and those of us embedding videos.

The Way

I always thought that I would always know what I needed or wanted do in my life but now I'm not so sure. As a child, I always used to say I loved dinosaurs. I said I wanted to be a paleontologist and dig up dinosaur bones. It sounded like the coolest and simplist job in the world back then. But once I got into high school, I decided that I liked something else: music. That job seemed like even more of a dream come true and in reality it probably would have to be for me to become a famous singer. And based on the way the economy is going, neither of those jobs is really economical for a career. When I started debating this I looked back at a song we did in show choir freshman year, "Show Me the Way" by Styx.



That song really adresses the feelings that I have and I'm sure others do to. The question is, who are you asking to show you the way? Some would say god because to most that seems like the most reasonable subject for the song or that is who they always turn to but I think that we can turn to something more tangable then that. The people who will really show us the way are the people who we love and who protect us. Our friends, our families, our teachers, and everyone else we respect and love teach us what we need to know so that, when the day comes, we will be ready to choose the right way and suceed in whatever we do. Maybe it won't be what we thought we wanted; maybe we will change our minds and go down a completely different path but no matter what we choose to do with our lives, those who helped you choose it will always support you and guide you even after you have made your choice.

The Project

I am having serious doubts about long term projects right now. I used to love them because you could work on them a little at a time and not have to be time crunched but I am starting to wonder if that is always true.

If you receive a project at the beginning of the term then you would expect that it wouldn't be to hard to get it done by the end of the term. However you have to make some calculations that wouldn't normally be figured in. The class that project is for isn't the only class you will have during the term and it might not even be the only one giving you a long term project. And that doesn't even cover the normal homework that you will undoubtedly have form all of your classes on a daily basis. With all of these things plus sports, show choir, jobs, and some sort of social life you don't have time to worry about that project that seems such a long way off. That is, at least until it isn't such a long way off. when that day comes and you finally realize that you don't have time to put off the project it is too late. Suddenly you are pulling an all nighter the day before it is due, desperately trying to read the necessary materials and not die of a heart attack from fear and over exhaustion, not to mention the six cups of coffee that have made you so caffeine resistant they don't even do any good. And then you are done. you sit, read it, and then find that you didn't even write down what you were supposed to and you start the whole cycle again. Some would call this procrastination but I don't think that is correct. I view procrastination as a habit of putting off work in the short term sense and then doing it at the last minute. this is when you knew that you needed to do it but you had other priorities that never got finished until you just had to put them aside and work on this at the last minute. People who do this are smart people who are forced into massive amounts of very hard classes by the pressure to be the most intelligent they can be and are almost in over their head with the overwhelming difficulty.

The Halloween Change

As I went out trick or treating for possibly the last time last night, I thought about how Halloween has changed. Many of the houses in my neighborhood didn't even welcome trick or treaters and most didn't want to give anything even though I was taking my younger siblings out. I also noticed that there were almost no kids trick or treating. My dad was handing out candy and said he saw a max of ten kids which was even a large step back from last year. then a thought came to me about something one of my teachers said about Halloween.

When this teacher was asked if they were doing anything for Halloween they promptly replied no and said that they didn't like the holiday. Naturally we wanted to know why because we all love Halloween. They replied that Halloween used to be a kids holiday about trick or treating and dressing up in cute costumes and now, it has turned into an adult holiday about going to haunted houses, costume parties, and seeing how slutty you can dress. I didn't think I agreed with this until I saw the reduced number of kids getting candy, more costumes for older people, and the increased number of haunted houses. I was shopping in the mall with my family today and we stopped by the Halloween store to see what they had left because everything was half off. I bought a wig but that was it because the store was filled with two things: revealing outfits for women and gory masks. That was about it. I didn't want to believe it but maybe Halloween had really become an older holiday. But why would that happen? It could be that we are slowly becoming a more mature society but I think it is more likely that the holiday is growing with the generation before me. Maybe the Halloween we once knew was based on what the last generation thought of Halloween and now that they are adults the holiday is growing up to match them instead of staying young and supporting the children of today. Think of how kids would have to go out trick or treating: their parents would have to drive them. Who hands out candy at the door: The parents again. If the parents decide that they want something different for the holiday or don't want it at all, then the children have no choice but to forget about the holiday and some of them may never even learn about it. I hope that is never the truth but in this ever changing world we live in you never know what will happen next.

The Audition

On Saturday, I auditioned for the Iowa All-State Chorus. It is the highest honor that a singer can get in the state of Iowa. It was an all day process that went in phases for me that could be put with the song I played on my iPod.

The day began at 4:30 am. Everyone auditioning from my school went to Happy Chef for breakfast at 5:15. I had oatmeal. We then went to Kennedy to warm up and prepare for the day. We went through all the parts we thought would be on the audition and then we loaded the bus. After an hour trip of trying to stay awake so that our voices would stay warmed up we arrived at West Delaware Elementary School, the sight of the auditions. We stood out in the cold with the unorganized mass of people waiting to get in the building. When they did, everyone flooded in, racing for the gym to claim their spot for home room. The Kennedy group calmly went to the cafeteria and setup camp there. Our director read through the cuts we would have to sing and we marked them all in our music. Prior to All-State, we had attended two mock audition sessions to prepare us for the auditions and the cuts that were chosen were all ones we had previously done at one of the mock auditions. I was feeling completely ready.



The next few hours were driven by "It's my life" by Bon Jovi. I was practicing every minute in my head and every chance my group had we were working on it together. Most of the time before our audition someone in my group was playing pitches at another groups audition. That made it hard to practice ensemble which was a crucial audition element. We knew that it was now or never when we got to the audition. our warm up went extremely well and, when we believed we were ready, we departed for the walk of fear. Once you left the warm up room you had to go up a flight of stairs and down a long hall all the way to the end and all in dead silence. This was the walk of fear. that was the moment that it really hit me that I should be nervous for what was about to come.

The audition went very well. The group sounded great and I couldn't have been happier about the performance. Then came the waiting. we finished at 11:50 am and the list for recalls wasn't supposed to come out until 2:30. I was trying hard to be patient. I had brought along homework but I had no focus for that. All I could think and wonder was whether I had made the recall list or made it in from the first round. I wanted to make it in from the first round because recalls are very hard to get in by but, if I was being realistic, I knew my only shot was to make it in by a recall.

When the list finally came out at about 3:30, an hour late based on their time, I wasn't on the list. In fact, only the best people in my eyes got recalls which meant that I was almost certainly not in All-State. That brought me to "Fix You" by Coldplay.



I had tried my best and I felt that I had not succeeded. I didn't know what I could have done better at to get a recall and have a chance at making All-State. At that point people who had not made the recall list were allowed to leave. I thought about going home but for some unknown reason, I felt I needed to stay. I felt terrible sitting around knowing that I had nothing else to do that day and yet I continued to do just that. My friends and I kept throwing ideas of what could have happened or whether we were on the first round accepted list but in reality, no one could have guessed what would really happen.

Around 5:30 the lists went up for the first round accepted. On them were the names of three of my best friends and ME. I HAD MADE IT IN THE FIRST ROUND! I was suddenly a celebrity it seemed. i was showered in hugs and hand shakes and congrats from everyone. I was so excited and shocked. The next song was a cheer for my school and myself "We are the Champions" by Queen.



We had a tenor 1, a tenor 2, a baritone (me), and a Bass but we didn't have a girl make it in the first round. Around 6:00, the girls' recall accepted list went up. we only had one alto on it and no sopranos. It took 'till almost 7:00 before the guys recall accepted list went up. On it was another tenor 1 and bass.

In the end, my school got seven people into All-State including me. I am super excited and happy about how it all played out. I feel bed for the altos and sopranos but I'm sure we will get them in next year. I know All-State is going to rule just based on the people going from my school. I think that I have finally broken the junior slump I refered to earlier on my blog and entered a new chapter in my life. One that includes me being an All-Stater.

The Homework We All Have

I think no matter how old we get or how fast we say we can get our homework done, "We all have a little more homework to do."

The Feelings

When you listen to music, how does it make you feel? The truth is probably that it isn't music that makes you feel a certain way, every type makes you feel differently when you hear it. I have realized that every time I don't like how I am feeling, I listen to or sing a song that will make me feel the way I want. It kinda explains why I have such a variety of songs on my ipod. And it makes me wonder, why does music make us feel a certain way? Do we like music because of the feelings it gives us? Comment if you have any theories.

The Thing we all want

This is a song that was cut from Disney's Aladdin and I think it is really good. I think we all want our parents to be proud of us.

The Junior Slump

I know people talk about a slump in your grades junior year because the classes are somehow harder, but that is not what I am referring to. I am talking about my recent fall from the performing arts.

I was living large sophomore year. I was in all of the plays,had a solo in show choir, and was first chair cello. I auditioned for the fall musical I Love You, Your Perfect, Now Change and made and I was super excited. That was when my fall began. I went to audition for TCR's Alter Boyz, a cool show about a fake christian rock band on their last show of their tour. I had never made anything at TCR but I thought I might have a chance. When I did the audition I completely failed and I was a little upset but I figured I hadn't made anything there before so why should I now?

It got worse when I auditioned for Almost, Maine, the fall play at my school. I walked in thinking I was ready but when I was on stage doing the lines and the part I didn't feel the same connection I once had to my parts. I walked out knowing that I wouldn't get a part and sure enough, I didn't. This was more depressing because I knew that I had done a terrible job and that if I would have done better I might have made it.

The next occurrence was with orchestra chair auditions. We got the material and I practiced on it to make sure i had it up to par. I even put in the right dynamics. I went in and auditioned for my director. He told me that he was very impressed with my use of dynamics and musicality. I took that as a good sign that I would be first chair again as I was last year. Much to my surprise, I received fourth chair. I was furious and amazed. How could I have nearly aced the audition and not have made anything higher than fourth. I believe that it came down to the fact that I don't take private lessons and he thinks I won't drop orchestra. Last year, when I was first chair, I was a sophomore and beat out two juniors to get it. the juniors, who are the new seniors and first and second chair, dropped all extra orchestras and groups and barely stayed in regular orchestra because they were so upset. My director couldn't have that so he would never dream of putting me in front of them again. He knew that I was a good enough person that I wouldn't drop his class so he could put me lower than I have ever been before. So, ends the third event in the list.

The final thing happened just last week with auditions for Playtime Poppy, the kids show that we put on every year at my school. I know the director well and I was really looking forward to auditioning. Sophomore year we did 101 Dalmatians and I was Roger, the owner of the dogs and the man who writes Cruella DeVil. I couldn't wait to be back in one of the Poppy casts because we are always less serious and are usually people who aren't in every play. I went to auditions and did the reading right after I came in. I thought I did well for having never seen it until I read it. we then went on to singing. it was a funny song we had to perform and he asked us to try and act while we sang it. I was one of the few people who did act and I thought I did a good job at it. Unlike Almost, Maine auditions, I walked out feeling like I was in it for sure because I had given one of my best auditions. But when the results were posted I was shocked to see that I didn't make it. The show was full of old Dalmatians people but not me. Even my freshman sister made it.

And so I have reached rock bottom. I have failed to make it into every kind of performing arts because I also don't have a solo in show choir this year. I have gone into a slump and I'm not sure how to get out. If I can't make shows with good auditions then how can I change to make any show I try out for? It is a problem and I will have to solve it or .... who knows if I will ever make a show again.

The Construction of a Show

I was thinking back to what I said about a show choir ballad and I started thinking about the rest of a show. Each of the songs plays a significant role in the construction of a show and without even one of them it would be noticeably in complete. To demonstrate this, I analyzed the songs in the 2008-09 Happiness inc. show.



the show began with starting here/ can you feel it. A good opener is one that draws you into the show slowly and also gives a burst of excitement. The opener is the first time that people, especially judges, watching your show get to hear you sing and see you dance so it has to be amazing. People don't want to watch you if you don't start off strong no matter how good the rest of your show is. This opener did just that by having the slow and well sung starting here followed by the up tempo can you feel it to show off their dancing.



Something that makes Happiness different is the use of a novelty. A novelty is a funny song that lightens the mood of the show. It is very effective at contrasting to the other songs in the show. It doesn't show off vocals or dancing but it shows that a group can act which is hard to do in other numbers. This was a novelty that did that and more by having good vocals and dancing along with amazing acting. It wasn't meant to be excessively funny just lighter and more dramatic than the other songs.



The ballad is supposed to change the whole rhythm of the show. It slows things down and gives the performers a chance to really show off their vocals. It is the most emotional piece in a show and that is exactly what this year's was. With two minutes of A Capella singing at the beginning and a strong finish it was amazing and even brought people to tears. That is what a ballad should do.



The fourth number is meant to change the mood again. It is an edgy song that puts a dark mood on things. this song did that. Abracadabra and magic man both have an air of mystery surrounding them. Coming off the sad but almost uplifting Fix you this was a big step in a new direction and it was great for the show.



The closer of the show has to be a huge number for intensity. It is the last song in your set so everyone is completely drained. That is why if you can pull of a high energy, fast paced, and strong vocally and choreographically to impress the people watching. If this song isn't the exact essense of what a closer is then i what to see the that number. There was more energy in that number than any I have seen and it was the closer to a very difficult show. I give Happiness props for pulling it off.

And that is the make of a Happiness inc. show. The basis for every show is the same but with minor changes and those are what make all the difference. A show that has elements no one expects, uses props, or makes you laugh are the shows that win competitions and are always remembered. Just like Happiness inc. 08-09.

The Essence of a Ballad

i have recently decided to try and arrange a song that I really like into a show choir ballad. I was trying to figure out what I would need to do. At first it seemed simple, I would need to know the stuff that I had learned in AP Music Theory. But as I began to analyze it I found that it would probably not be that easy. I broke it down into these seven features: 1. Big key changes 2. 8-12 part harmonies 3. Melody > Harmony > " OO"s 4. Clashes 5. Meshing overlap 6. Climax and 7. A tenor solo.

Key changes are always in songs and they help lead to the climax which is usually accented with the biggest key change in the song. The more parts there are in a song the more meshing there tends to be which sounds amazing. clashing adds to the ominous feel that a ballad sometimes has and oos and aws are always there as back up in the beginning of the song. and Finally, I have always lovved tenor solos and would love to get to sing a ballad solo someday so I have to put one in.

Now that I had all of the points I wanted to focus on I went to look for inspiration. and what better place to look but at a show choir in my own school with a long history of great ballads: Happiness inc. So I went out and found some of there greatest ballads and I was fully inspired. I am sure you will understand why.













My idea for a ballad (if you have advice please comment)

The Difference

I had to make a decision this year that I didn't want to make. According to the Iowa All-State Music Festival rules, "Students must make a choice in the area they will audition. Students may NOT try out for both vocal and instrumental or on more than one instrument." This was a problem since I play the cello and sing in choir. I knew that there was no way around the choice so I had to make it but which would I choose.

I had auditioned for all-state on the cello last year. It was difficult and I failed the audition miserably. I realized at that point that I may never make all-state on cello. But was I good enough to make it for choir? You got to audition in a quartet not on your own like you had to for orchestra. But I know that some of the most talented singers never make it into all-state. And was even one of the most talented. I decided to compare the facts.

The Audition:

Orchestra: For the audition, you have to perform alone. You play two randomly selected scales, three of the excerpts, and a solo.

Choir: For this audition you have to sing in a small group which must be either be a quartet, trio, or duet ( the most your school can put in the groups must be in them). Your group will sing as many excerpts as they choose from the selected songs. After all groups are heard then there are recalls for the people who don't make it right away. Then the final list is announced.

then there was...
The Excerpts:

Orchestra: The excerpts were released at the end of summer. They are brutally difficult and usually very fast. You don't know which excerpts you will have to play for the audition until the day of all-state. You also don't know which scales you will have to play.

Choir: the songs were released at the end of summer. The excerpts that will be taken from those songs aren't known until the day you audition. You also don't know what they will choose form the Battle Hymn of the Republic or America the Beautiful.

After looking at these facts, I felt it came down to my talent. I was a decent cellist but there were those who were prodigies. I also can't play a scale to save my life. Without those I could only get a 66% on the audition even if everything else was perfect. So my thoughts fell to choir. I had been voted best tenor in my choirs for the past two years. But I had been told that I didn't blend well in a large group so how would I possibly sound in a quartet? I also had been to bass changing how I would have to sing.

I decided that I had a better chance with choir. However there was one more step. At my school there are too many talented people to let them all audition for all-state so only the top seven singers from each voice part got to audition for all-state. So I would have to audition to audition and if I didn't make it I could always join up with orchestra. But I did and so here I am. Working my tail off to try and prove that I can be an all-state member. I don't think I will be too upset if I don't make it as long as I know I did my best which is something I can't say about last year. So here's to hope in the future.

The Place I Call Home

I was thinking back to an essay we read in class this week. It was called Homeless by Anna Quindlin and I feel that I can relate to the essay a lot.

In the essay, she mentions that people don't have homes anymore because they move so much. I know exactly what that is like. I have lived in 8 houses in 4 states and I have never gone to a single school for every grade that it teaches. As I've mentioned, I hope to be famous for my musical ability someday, so naturally I look to all those who have already made it for an example. In every biography and interview the first question is always what is your home town and that is a problematic question for me.

Most of the famous people lived in the town they were born in for years and then left to become famous. I was born in Cherokee, IA. However, I spent a matter of months there before my family moved. My dad kept having to move for his job so I didn't live anywhere for more than a few months after the first four moves. Those place were houses not homes. I could say Olathe, KS. It was the longest I have ever spent in one house, six years. But does time make a place feel more like home? I had friends there, my first girlfriend, the move to junior high from elementary school, and some of my favorite teachers ever. But it all runs together and I don't keep in contact with anyone from my life there anymore. I will always remember Kansas but it wasn't my home.

That leaves one place: Cedar Rapids, IA. I lived here for three years prior to the move to Kansas and now I have lived here for almost three more years. This place has so many memories for me. This is where I am attending high school, where I got my drivers license, where I got my own cello. Where my parents grew up and will die. Where I found my true love of music. And, where I found true friends that will last forever. Those are the things that truly make a home. Not the house or the amount of time you spend there but the memories that last forever. So no matter where I may go from now on I know that I have found the place that I can always come back to. For the first time I have a place I could say is my home town.

The Downfall of the Heart

I haven't had a great deal of good experiences with relationships in high school, and that is why I am making this post. I think that most people think love is a good thing but I just don't know anymore.

If I think hard enough, I can remember freshman year. I wasn't thinking about love much then, so it was a big surprise that I was asked to go to the women pay all dance by a girl I knew from show choir. We went in a huge group, went out to eat, road in a limo to the dance, and, at least to the best of my knowledge, had a great time. After that dance, we hung out some more and went bowling with that group of girls and their dates. The question was posed that day as to whether that girl and I were going out or if we were just friends. I said that I would like to go out with her and she said she needed some time. After a week of not talking to and barely looking at me she told me that maybe we shouldn't go out and I think we have become good enemies from that day on. I did ask out one other girl that year only to be turned down in no such spectacular way as the other girl did.

During sophomore year, I tried to find someone special many times. For the homecoming dance, I asked a senior who I had known since my first day at high school. She said yes and we joined her group. We had a great time but I never got to ask her out because she met a freshman that she clearly liked better than me given that she took him to prom and WPA. I persuaded one of my good friends to go to WPA with me by making it pretty much a regular men pay all dance. After the dance we talked a lot and went out with our friends but when I tried to ask her out she said that she was not going to date until she was out of high school and in college because of her beliefs. It is funny, however, that she currently has a boy friend and low and behold, she is still in high school. I did try to ask out one other friend but she just told me that she would rather be friends and nothing more.

This year, I took a good friend that I started to like to a dance with me but we went in a group and it wasn't very couple friendly. I hung out with her almost everyday, we went to lunch and the movies with friends and talked a lot. I tried to find a sweet, romantic way to ask her out but it wasn't good enough and she told me we are nothing but friends. I know that she likes one of my best friends now. How nice for me! But as you know, I am nothing more than a friend to anyone.

And that is why I question whether love is really good or not. In my experience, I think love is a painful let down. The heart is such a vital organ that gives you life and maybe that is why it hurts so much when we loose love. Perhaps it is really taking away a little more life or reason to live each time love is denied. That is how my heart feels but then again I don't know much else. I have never known what it feels like to have someone that I love love me back I believe that is what makes the difference. My hope is that someday I may know love and have it reciprocated but until then I will live with what life is left in my heart.

The Comedy Videos

These are some fun videos by Weird Al Yankovic if you want check them out. I think they are pretty funny.

"Ebay"-

"White and Nerdy"-

"Amish Paradise"-

The Play

Since June, I have been working on a musical for my school called "I Love You, Your Perfect, Now Change." It has been a great ride and it ended with a great performance Saturday night for two adjudicators for the International Thespian Conference.

we auditioned for the show back in May at the end of the school year. The auditions were difficult and I didn't know if I would have a shot of getting into such a small cast. In the previous years at Kennedy I had either been a chorus member or not made it into every musical and had only had a main part in The Foreigner my freshman year. I wanted to be in this show really badly though, so I worked my tail off for that audition. I spent a long time singing the song over and over to memorize it and I ran the acting part every chance I could get. When I found out I got a call back I was super excited and nervous. Our director said he would take four guys and four girls for the show and he had called back ten guys and ten girls. Everyone was amazing at the call backs and I don't know how he ever decided who to choose, but he did and was ecstatic to see my name on the list. There were twelve of us, six guys and six girls. We got together before school was out and received our parts and scripts. It was an all star cast of some of the best singers and actors in our school and I was proud to be in it. We listened to the show and it was amazing! I loved the parts I was in and couldn't wait to start practicing.

Over the summer, we had almost no practices with the exception of two read throughs. But as school began to approach we began to meet more and starting two weeks before school, we had practices everyday. That was about the time we found out that we would be adjudicated for international thespian conference. We were all super excited ever though we knew that it meant long hours of hard work, even more than we had done for the other shows we had been in.

Once school started, we were in the black box, our schools little theatre, everyday right after school to perfect each scene. We began with act I and went through every scene in it. As it turned out, we had very few trouble spots and had the first act smoothly running right on time. After a short break we came back and began working on act II. It had a slight bit more to work on then the other scene including a scene where my fellow cast members and I had to drive rolling chairs around like a car. Even though it was more difficult, act II was ready to go right when it was supposed to be as well.

Then came runs. I had realized that it was more difficult to get your homework done starting at about six every night, but when I didn't get to start 'till nine I almost never got to bed before one a.m. and I had to be up at six. the show was going together very nicely and it had begun to improve on its own now that we were fully memorized and knew how the show flowed. After two weeks of running the show, we needed an audience, and we got one.

Three of our four performances were sold out and the other one was very close. As we performed every night, we learned from our mistakes, made it better, and by the time we got to that final show that the adjudicators were at, we were ready.

this cast was amazing and I beleive that this could have been the best show that we have ever performed at Kennedy. I know I will truly miss everyone in the cast and I hope that we make it to internationals so that we can perform this great show again and reunite this great cast.

The Videos

These are some of my favorite songs for this week. At least they seemed to be stuck in my head. I am also posting the link to Fame's trailer for anyone who hasn't seen it.

Fame's trailer

Fame's closing number ( amazing!)

Human by The Killers

Fireflies by Owl City

The Movie

This weekend, some of my friends and I attended one of the best movies I have seen in a long time, Fame. I don't think I need to justify why I like it because I already know and so would any one who knew me, but this was extremely moving and i have to do this.

Fame takes place in the New York High School of Performing Arts. I can't tell you how amazing I think it would be to go to a school for the performing arts. I love singing, dancing, acting, and playing cello and bass. In the movie, one of the coolest things I saw was when they had "lunch." I almost wouldn't call it lunch but the coolest freestyle jam session ever. It wasn't completely new because that happens in almost every musical that has ever existed, but it was taken to the next step. It included dancers, singers, rappers, guitarists, orchestral instruments, band instruments, drums, keyboards, and everything else you can imagine. I dream that could be possible somewhere in the world and that someday I could be there and be a part of that amazing experience.

I hope that I can get into a great music college and that i could perform music as a career. This movie was a good way to look at how competitive it will be and what could happen. At the beginning of the kids freshman year, the principle gives them a figure that show how competitive the business is. She says that they received 10,000 applications and only 200 students made it in. this made me think about my talent as a performer compared to others. I thought about just the friends I had gone with to the movie. One of them is a brilliant piano player and is the only junior alto in my schools top choir. Another made the top show choir sophomore year along with the top choir and was one of the 12 members in the vocal jazz ensemble. The last has been in every play it was possible for him to be in and has beaten me out for ever solo in show choir that we have both auditioned for. That was where I stood in the mix of only four juniors in my school alone. Think of how many other kids there are who must be five times as talented as I could ever be and they all want the same thing I want maybe even the same spot at college.

So what if I did make it in to a music school, how would I survive? Over the course of the movie, many of the characters were dropped from the school for their in ability to progress or their poor grades. If I am not even the most talented in my high school, how will I ever be able to survive any weed out classes that a college could throw at me? I can't afford to take voice lessons or cello lessons privately so there is no way, without scholarships, I will be able to go to a great music school should I prove that I am talented enough to go to one, and that would mean I would have to be exceptional. I realize that I am not that exceptional like my friend the piano player. She was able to play all the songs that the main piano playing character could on her leg during the movie by memory. I don't have talent anywhere near that.

I am not saying I don't have some talent and more than most, but I don't have the god given ability of my friends. I don't have perfect pitch and I can't sing high "C"s. I am not naturally funny or great at being any character that is thrown at me. I don't play with great technique and I can't sight read for anything. I have had to work hard to be where I am now and I still haven't reached the top of the ladder in any of the performing arts yet.

So what drives me to keep after my dream of music? One word: Love. I love music and performing more than anything else in the world. I realize that I may never succeed at being a great musician but if I didn't try I would be denying my heart the chance to do what it so desperately wants to do. I always have the choice, should performing fail, to become a music teacher to help nurture young people with the same dream I have succeed in their endeavors. The most inspiration I have gotten through these years has been from the teachers and directors that have helped me develop what talent I do have.

I know that in the next years I head down an uncertain and brutal path. I can't tell you what will come of my music, but then again who ever knows what will come of their life and love. All I can say is that I will never give up dreaming that some day there will be in a place where everyone jumps on the lunch tables singing in perfect harmony and I will be right there, helping the melodious chords rise and flow from my heart with everyone else. that is where I belong.

The Trip

Every other year, Happiness inc. goes on a trip usually to Show Choir Nationals in Nashville, TN. The year was last year, but due to crunched schedules and conflicts with the band's trip we have decided to go on a trip this year. Naturally, I was extremely excited when we heard about it last spring at the auditions for show choir. However, a recent event has occurred that puts a new twist on the entire trip.

This year for the first time ever, Protege, our prep group was invited to come and perform in the prep division. This is an awesome opportunity for Protege because they have always been a great group in past years and have even faired well against varsity groups. This has raised questions of whether the trip is select enough anymore. It used to be that if you weren't in Happiness then you didn't get to go on the trip which made the trip special for Happiness members. But if Protege goes is it still select enough? True Protege will compete in a lower division, but they will still get to do what all the Happiness members get to do.

Personally, I can only see benefits if we both go. I have lots of friends who are still in Protege and I would love for them to go along with us. Plus, Concert Choir is going anyway and probably 80% of Protege is in Concert Choir. Show choir is a lot about energy in your dancing and it will be much easier to do that if we have the support of our fellow show choir members cheering us on. People mentioned bonding with your group as a concern but I think that we are being to select to say having Protege there will hinder the groups bonding. We are all part of the same department and should all get to know everyone in all the groups not just our own.

I realize that this trip can only be better if we bring along our fellow show choir. All of Happiness is part of Protege's proud history and should want them to have this opportunity to prove their greatness to the world. I hope that the decision will be that Protege can come. Can't wait to here.

The Era of Musical Varience

I realized that I am about to live through my first full decade of music at the end of this year and I began to wonder how it will be referred to.

I think we will definitely be remembered as a time when nearly anyone could make it as a musician. Shows such as American Idol made nobodies into stars. Some of the most popular people off those shows didn't even win but were discovered because of them. that doesn't include the multitude of stars companies like Disney produced. Disney and others took all the actors for their tv shows who were slightly popular and let them try to sing. even if they couldn't sing it still made the companies money because the actors drew fans no matter what.

Another discovery is that there really wasn't a dominating genre of music. Rappers were popular and still are. Pop songs are "popular" (who would have thought). Country had some showings on the charts. Rock is still around and in the running. Almost every kind of music imaginable was at the top of the charts at some time this decade which is why I feel that no one type should or can be called the type for this decade.

Music refused to stay in ridged categories also. Artists like Taylor Swift have drifted between genres like country and pop. Almost all genres could be considered pop or other types at times depending on the song. That is another reason that no genre could be the genre for the 2000-2009. With this much transience how do you know which songs you are including?

I guess I don't really have to worry though because I don't have to know what music was popular in the past decade because I lived through it. I probably won't be deciding what was popular either. that job will be left to the media and future generations who look back on my time and tell me what I was listening to. Until then, I'll listen to whatever I like.

The Dance

Last night was the homecoming dance at my school and it was a very different expirience than I've had before. I went in a group of people of which noone was dating and most didn't even go with dates. Three of the eight people's first languages were not english which made conversations very interesting. For the first time, I didn't stay at the dance the whole time because we decided to go to a movie. It was also the least I have ever danced at a "dance."
The night began at Metro buffet where the whole group met to ride to olive garden where we planned to eat. Due to some forgetfulness, I ended up being the only American at Metro and I was the only person who didn't know an asian langue even when other americans got there. Needless to say, it was a quiet time for me in which I understood little. When we got to Olive Garden, we met the rest of our group who had not met at Metro by an accident in communication. The food was amazing but the portions were huge and noone could finish them.
After that, we headed for the dance even though it was almost an hour early. We had a multitude of pictures taken and we managed to leave nearly everything we needed in the car so we made many trips back and forth before the dance started. Pictures were easy once we actually were ready and we then head into the actual dance area.
Within minutes we were overly hot and decided to go outside. We ended up spending the rest of the night at picnic table talking with friends. We went in and dance for about three songs which was enough for us to decide to go to a movie instead so we left around nine fifteen. Given the few choices of movies not rated R or that looked boring, the group decided to attend Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It was a very good movie and it ended well. After that, we headed back to Metro to drop off my date and me so we could take our cars home.
I realized that what was different about this dance from the other dances I have been to was that it had little focus on the couples because so many people didn't bring dates. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy the dance, but it wasn't what I expected based on my view of the dancing norm. I think I did learn quite a bit about my preferences on dances that I can apply in the future.

The Few

We are just a few days away from quartet auditions for All State choir and I was thinking back to the practice we had last weekend. Our director told us that he would hold part separated rehearsals to help us prepare for the audition. I was excited because I needed some help since I only get to be in Concert Choir every other day. My school is loaded with talented singers. It is difficult for even the most talented people to stand out. But we only ever get about five people into All State every year. Being that that is the case, I figured that loads of people would take advantage of a great opportunity like this but that was nowhere near true. In all, we had eight people, four sopranos, two tenors, two basses, and no altos.
This thought was originally surprising and I wondered if this why we don't get more people into All State. Have we become over confident about our abilities so much that we don't think we need practice? There was an ACT test that day during the time of the practices so that could have been the reason that there were so few. But a comment in class yesterday made me question us even more. My teacher said that he would easily be able to chose the top seven from the lower three parts because there were only a few more and in some cases less than seven auditioning. That was a shock to me because I had always heard that All State was super competitive, even at our school, and figured I might not even make it. I am exstatic that I will most likely get to audition but a bit worried. I think we only have one returning All Stater and I have faith he will make it again but will anyone else. There is a talented group auditioning and I believe that someone will make it but who knows. I can only guess why some people arn't auditioning.

The Deciding Factor

I am a bat boy for the single-A affiliate of the LA Angels, the Cedar Rapids Kernels, who have made the playoffs and are now in the second round. I was watching the games, either for the dugout or the stands, and realized that there was one thing winning all the games.

It wasn't batting. Most of the games were won by one run. Some were high scoring others were low. Players that had hit well during the year were still hitting well. So batting wasn't causing teams to win or lose.

But pitching wasn't it either. Pitchers were throwing just about the same as normal and pitchers on both teams were throwing at about the same level. Closers could still close and starters could still start. So pitching wasn't the problem either.

If the 2 most important things in baseball weren't the problem, then what was it? What was holding every team back was knowing when to change pitchers. It began with the Kernels win over Peoria. the Kernels were down by one in the bottom of the ninth inning. The game had been exciting up to that point due to a good amount of scoring that had taken place making it 8 to 7, but nothing I ever see will compare to the ending of this epic game. Peoria brought in their best closer and was prepared for an easy one, two, three sit down so they could win and play the next game to try and win the best two out of three series. Their pitcher only got two down, however, before he walked our first batter. This was just the beginning though and he proceeded to walk the bases loaded. During this time, the Peoria pitching coach had completely warmed up another pitcher but the head Peoria coach thought that the closer could get the final out. The closer then proceeded to walk the tying run in. The pitcher in the bullpen walked all the way down to the dugout and tried to tell the coach to put him but the coach refused. And that was it because the next pitch hit the Kernels' batter in the ankle, walking him and causing the Kernels to win all because Peoria wanted to let the closer to get the final out.

The same thing happened in the second round, except it was the Kernels' turn. In the fifth inning, the Kernels' starter had yet to give up a run to the Burlington Bees. He pitch well and got the first two outs, but then he started to walk people. He walked two batters who ended up on third and second before he gave up his first hit. The runners scored and it didn't end there. He proceeded to give up another run and two hits before the reliever was put in and ended it in three pitches. The Kernels lost that game three to two and only scored in the first.

I think progress has been made and it is shown in the way that the second game against Burlington came out. The Kernels' pitcher had pitched seven innings and he had only given up 1 hit. He got two outs and then let two more hits go by in the eighth. It was then that we brought in our reliever who finished the inning without any trouble.

I believe that in this years playoffs the team that learns when a pitcher can and can't handle a situation will win and the Kernels are headed on that track. It won't be easy, but I believe that this could be the year that the Kernels finally win it all because they know what to do about the deciding factor.

The Idols

I was recovering from the shock of the great choreography talking scandal when I decided to take sometime and reflect on whet it was I love about show choir. Thinking back to freshman year, I was in Chantuers, the freshman show choir, that year. I had never been in show choir before and I was ecstatic to have the chance now. I had moved from Kansas in the middle of eighth grade where the was no show choir to a place where show choir was as big as high school football. We were part of the group that was under new direction and we were all new to high school show choir. As anyone would, we found something that we thought was the pinnacle of perfection in show choir, Happiness inc., the varsity show choir at our school. The members of that group were like show choir gods to us. Our dream was to be just like them. I remember when I listened them sing. I spent weeks learning the parts to their songs so that I could sing them too. I loved how effortless their moves looked, how perfect their harmonies were, and how great it felt when they succeeded. But success didn't always come and I will always remember at the first competition of the year when Happiness was given 6th place. I don't worry about that any more because they received 2nd or 1st at every other competition.



Sophomore year I made it into Protege, the prep show choir. This group was amazing and I was happy to be a part of it. During the year, we received 3 grand champions, 2 first runner ups, and fifth over all in the finals at MoShow Competition. Even with that much success, though, I still idolized Happiness. They were amazing and I thought that was just them. They didn't have to work, there were no problems, they were just perfect. Or so I thought.......



Then came this year and I was finally in! I was one of the people that all the younger show choir members wanted to be. I thought that all of the problems that we had had when we were young would just vanish. But they didn't. We still talk too much, people still mess around, and we still have vocal problems sometimes. That was when the choreography retreat happened and I realized that it wasn't effortless or easy. Happiness wasn't naturally good, they had to work for it, they had to have good leaders, and learn discipline. Those leaders were the people I had known and loved from past groups. They were amazing and taught the group to be amazing too. And that's what we need. We need leaders who are positive examples and can teach others to be the best that they can be so that we can succeed just like Happiness always has.

The Root of Our Problem

I have recently had a revelation about a thing I hold dear in my life, show choir. It was strange because on the outside, the problem we have is not directly conneted to me. But in reality, it will more than likely affect me more than those who have the problem.

We knew that in show choir, we had a talking problem. I believe it is rooted in the beginings of your freshman year in high school if not before. You most likely had friends when you got to high school that you knew from middle school or somewhere else. I remember sitting in freshman orientation and hearing the phrase, " Get involved to make friends and have fun." I remember this year telling the freshman, I wish I would have had more friends and more fun my freshman year. This is the reason I think I don't have the problem that our showchoir has, talking too much. When people came to my school freshman year, some joined our freshman show choir. As anyone could guess that is where they made friends and those people are still friends now and still in show choir together.

The trend could only continue through the prep showchoir as almost all the people in the freshman show choir moved up to the next level. Now that members of the group can drive, they can spend more time outside of school with their friends and their friendship grows stronger. By the time they have reached the varsity show choir, almost everyone has a group of friends and they want to talk all the time.

And therin lies the root of our problem. The answer is not as clear because we can't eliminate friendship, we just need to control when the friends talk to each other. I have faith that we will find an answer, but if we don't ...... who knows. the fate of our sucess really rests on finding that solution.

Welcome

Hey, welcome to my blog! I have never blogged before but I'm giving it a try.(mostly because I have to for school) I will try to discuss mostly music and some about the plays and musicals I am involved in. I hope I figure out what I am doing and that you at least semi enjoy my blog.